A characteristic feature of the manufacture of locks is that they respond to highly individualized designs including those created by a single manufacturer. This means that each lock responds to an exclusive design which uses pieces which are only applicable to itself and are not interchangeable with pieces of other locks, even though their function may be identical. It also means that when one wishes to incorporate some improvement in the features of a lock, instead of creating a new original design, it is typical to resort to modifications based on the original individual design; in this way, the result in turn becomes something which is only applicable to that specific lock and not to others.
This situation, which occurs when one wishes to satisfy new needs applying conventional mechanical technology, is also the case when trying to incorporate the more modern electronic technology.
The result is the production of executions which are complex in the configuration, number and assembly of the pieces and which are only valid in themselves. In order to better appreciate the gravity of this situation, think of the great variety of existing types of locks (with exterior and/or interior activation using a knob or handle, a conventional key and a knob or handle, or electromechanical mechanisms with a knob, handle or cylinder, etc.).